Description
Mr. Andrews describes being in a convoy aboard HMS Loch Maree and, for the first time, seeing a ship sink. He transfers to the minesweeper HMS John Barry, and two days later the Loch Maree is lost with all hands.
George Andrews was born in August, 1900 in Point Leamington, Newfoundland. He was the eldest of five sons and attended the Salvation Army and United Church schools to age thirteen, at which time he went to work in a lumber camp. Mr. Andrews enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1916, serving aboard both the HMS Loch Maree and HMS John Barry. Mr. Andrews contends that without the Royal Navy, the war would have been lost.
Transcript
I went up then there to the North Sea. Went out from Edinborough. Well I was on the Loch Maree and we only had, we hadn't had supper but they put a small (inaudible) on them see, boats they done up from fishing daggers, you know, armed them and I was up with the wheel and they were down getting their supper, see, the captain and the mate and he come up. He had his mate come up and he said, “Did you ever, (I was only a young fellow) did you ever see one go down?”, he said. And I said, “No.” Well he says, “there's one there, look!” Just like that. That's the first thing I seen. She was only about 100 yards away I would say. She had a load of ore in and when I seen her she turned away only a bit of the stern left. It went that quick, about two minutes I would say. And everything went on her, two men, we got two men out of that one. And they shift me to another place, for I had to go on there and leave and go get training see. Actually gunnery it was and Tuesday morning I was on it six months. I leave there Sunday. Tuesday morning she went. Everything gone.